How Black Lives Mattered: Racial Resentment, Threat, and Policing in the 2016 Presidential Election

• In Event: 4433 - Voting and Elections

Abstract

Race and the police appeared to be major issues in the 2016 presidential election, though in seemingly conflicting ways. On the one hand, the Black Lives Matter movement appeared successful in drawing public and political attention to the issue of police mistreatment of black citizens. On the other, the election witnessed the re-emergence of racially-coded calls for law and order. Building a theoretical model drawn from work on social movements, race, and the politics of crime and justice, we explore public opinion about the police and race in the context of the election. Using the 2016 American National Election Studies Time Series Study, we investigate contrasting views of the police—affective police support versus perceptions of police racial injustice and support for Black Lives Matter. The results suggest two distinct and divergent stories. On the one side, concern about biased policing and support for the civil rights movement seeking to address it was associated with increased turnout among Democrats and more votes for Hillary Clinton. On the other side, claims about supporting the police appeared to matter mainly to those with high levels of racial resentment. Implications for our understanding of the 2016 election, racial justice social movements, and the politics of the police are discussed.

Authors

• Kevin M. Drakulich, Northeastern University

• Kevin Wozniak, University of Massachusetts Boston

• John Hagan, Northwestern University

• Devon Johnson, George Mason University